Ben Drake
Benjamin Cooley (born August 20 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the NXT brand, where he performs under the name Ben Drake. Early Career American Independent Circuit Drake first began his forray into professional wrestling in 2010. Shawn Michaels, who had recently retired after losing to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26, agreed to train him. Drake temporarily moved to San Antonio in order to be trained by Michaels, and began wrestling small independent wrestling shows there under his real name as a fan favorite. Occasionally, he would get offers to work at larger independent promotions, such as Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and would almost always lose the matches he had there. New Japan Pro Wrestling In 2012, Drake, still wrestling under his real name, signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling. During this time, he teamed with Bulletproof American on many occasions, though they would often lose their matches against other NJPW wrestlers such as Shinsuke Nakamura, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada, with Drake almost always taking the pinfall/submission. Bulletproof American would slowly faze out his association with Drake, before signing with WWE in 2015, leaving Drake all on his own. New Japan Pro Wrestling would release him shortly after. The WWE Tryout In October 2015, after five years of wrestling in smaller promotions with limited success, Drake had finally reached his proverbial sink-or-swim moment. The October 26 edition of Raw was set to take place in San Diego, where Drake was living after his release from NJPW. Drake decided to apply to WWE to wrestle a tryout match at Raw before the TV taping began. His request was accepted, and, in a dark match before that edition of Raw, Drake lost to Tyson Kidd. WWE ultimately decided that Drake's showing was unimpressive and chose not to sign him. Drake was distraught; so far he had made a very unsuccessful career for himself, he had blown every single opportunity he was given, and now what little confidence he had left had been shattered by this loss to Tyson Kidd. After his match, as Drake was preparing to leave the building, he was stopped by Triple H. Triple H told him that, while he thought Drake had potential, he needed to reinvent himself to become a successful wrestler. Triple H suggested that Drake change his ring name and other aspects of his image, first and foremost, so that people would take him more seriously. The two discussed this further, before Triple H came up with a name they both liked; Ben Drake. Triple H also suggested that Drake interpret the match rules liberally, stating that "cheater is just what losers call winners." Up until that point, Drake had taken a very hard stance against cheating or shenanigans of any kind, but it hadn't gotten him anywhere, yet the opposite philosophy had gotten Triple H to many world title reigns. Drake thanked Triple H for his advice, and guaranteed him that he would return to WWE soon as a star. Return to the Independent Circuit & NJPW Drake, with a renewed sense of confidence and a new philosophy on wrestling, made his in-ring return to the independent circuit a few weeks after the WWE tryout. Now with a new hairstyle, new attire and a beard, Drake looked like a completely different person and acted like one too. Drake had a match with Johnny Gargano and, to the surprise of all, won decisively. In this match, Drake showed a new aggressive side, constantly working to wear down Gargano and cut off his momentum, and liberally using the referee's five-count of the rope break, eventually winning with a Pedigree taken from Triple H. In the following months, as Drake's wins began to mount, Drake made a surprise Ring of Honor return, confronting then-ROH World Television Champion Roderick Strong. Drake cut a promo saying last time he was in ROH he was a nobody, but now he's fighting to prove to himself and to everyone that he has what it takes to be a champion. Strong accepted his challenge and, on the December 19th edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling, Drake defeated Strong to gain the ROH World Television Championship with a low blow and a Pedigree. UNDER CONSTRUCTION In Wrestling *'Finishing moves' **'Code Red / The Next Level (Cradle sitout suplex slam) - 2010-Present **''Pedigree'' (Double underhook facebuster) - 2015-Present; adopted from Triple H **''Sweet Chin Music'' (Superkick, with theatrics) - 2010-2015; used rarely thereafter; adopted from Shawn Michaels *'Signature moves' **'''''TBA *'Nicknames' **'"Big Time"' Championships and Accomplishments *'ROH' **''''''ROH World Television Champion (1 time) Category:NXT Category:Wrestler Category:Heel